‘Upcoming polls an opportunity to redefine, rebuild Zimbabwe’

Farirai Machivenyika, Harare BureauTHE forthcoming elections offer an opportunity to redefine and rebuild the country with Zanu-PF remaining the party of hope, President Mnangagwa said yesterday.

President Mnangagwa, who is also Zanu-PF First Secretary, said this while addressing ruling party’s Central Committee at the party Headquarters in Harare. “This session further comes in the wake of my proclamation that the harmonised elections will be held on 30 July 2018.

“We are thus meeting at a crucial moment in the history of our beloved nation, as the forthcoming elections provide us with an incredible opportunity. We have a chance to redefine, rebuild and revamp our country and move forward into a prosperous future. Today, as we convene, our nation is full of energy, opportunity, freedom and hope. Zanu-PF is again the party of hope,” President Mnangagwa said.

The President said the Central Committee had not met as required by the party’s constitution due to the numerous meetings he has been holding with various sectors of society.

These interactions include meetings with chiefs, captains of industry, religious leaders, students and war veterans among others.

“In the period under review, guided by the mantra ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ we begun a journey to re-engage with the rest of the world and end the close to 20 years of isolation in the bid to build political trust with the rest of the world and reinforce our commitment for mutually beneficial cooperation as we strive to grow our economy and deliver a decent life for our people.

“Our international relations strategy is informed by the need to promote industrialisation, agricultural mechanisation and modernisation, the development of modern infrastructure and ICT as well as all other sectors in line with the current trends throughout the region and beyond,” he added.

The Zanu-PF First Secretary also told the Central Committee that the country had received over $16 billion in investment commitments over the past six months. “I am confident that in the near future, the ordinary people will begin to see the benefits of this timely strategy.

“We are determined to work towards becoming a middle income country, with the per capita income of $3 500, increased investment, decent jobs, broad-based empowerment, free from poverty and corruption by 2030,” President Mnangagwa added.

The President also said Government was working flat out to resolve the cash crisis saying over $200 million had been released into the market but had been dwarfed by the absence of a local currency.

Turning to party matters, President Mnangagwa said the primary elections had exposed shortcomings within the party system, cadre orientation and grounding.

“The primary elections process therefore brought to the fore conduct which is alien to the personality and character of our revolutionary party. This included alleged vote buying, outright manipulation of party procedures, rules and regulations and disregard to the letter and spirit of the constitution of our party.

“We noted with concern the unbridled ambition demonstrated by some cadres of the party who were prepared to win, no matter the costs. Ours is a revolutionary party, things are done according to plans,” President Mnangagwa added.

He said there was need to harmonise the party systems to avoid a repeat of the mistakes.

“The developments in the past months must embolden us to promote fairness and justice as a core and fundamental values within our revolutionary party. We should enforce our Constitution, rules, regulations and procedures as we seek to administer our party affairs with impartiality, always safeguarding the vital interests of the people,” President Mnangagwa said.

He said there was need to promote discipline, follow reporting system and respect of party structures.

The President said the Politburo would consider proposals by the Women’s League that positions such as Secretaries for Administration, Finance and Commissariat in all the party wings be held by people on a full time basis to ensure smooth flow and coordinated administration of the party.

“As we head towards the crescendo of the election period, I am aware of the emotions associated with this stage; I urge us all to carry out our campaigns in peace, love and unity. Let the people see a new face of our party though our good deeds, language and positive energy as we inspire them towards better tomorrow, towards the Zimbabwe we want,” he said.

“I urge us all therefore to go out and mobilise for the resounding victory of our party. We must readily accept the organisational arrangements of our structures as we move forward in unity.”

He reiterated that everyone was free to campaign under the new dispensation and warned party cadres not to be distracted from the ultimate objective of reviving the economy and improving welfare of the people.